Reveling in Everyday Beauty • by Anne Weil

Always Knew I Needed Art
Until recently, I had no idea how much making meant to me. In my busy life, I couldn’t manage to slow down enough to recognize that art, both my own and that of others, literally makes my heart go pitter-patter and my soul hum. Coming from a family that valued credentials and high-powered jobs left little room for me to celebrate the handmade or take the time to see the beauty in every day. Working in the financial world and being mother to three kids (oh yeah, a wife, too!) made it pretty hard to carve out the space for creativity. It always seemed to fall to the bottom of the pile. Somewhere, though, I always knew that I needed art in my life.

At the end of 2010, I decided to start writing a blog once a week. The blog was originally meant to be a simple mechanism to force making-time into my life. I thought I would blog about knitting, which I had done with some regularity since I was young. Once I got started though, I couldn’t stop. Before I knew it, I was making jewelry, crocheting, sewing, knitting, embroidering, crafting with the kids, taking photographs, and playing with paper and thread and fabric. I forgot how many different kinds of art making I loved. I had thrilled in these activities as a child, but hadn’t practiced the skills in what felt like eons! That the physical act of making something beautiful with my hands would bring so much joy to my heart was shocking to me. The happiness blossoming from this creative journey is beyond what I can describe in words. Truly, writing my blog and making my art saved me, as in the real me, the true me.

Creativity Within Each One of Us
I believe that art is the creativity that is found within each one of us. It can be expressed and recognized in many different ways. I still struggle to embrace that I am an artist, but I work daily to acknowledge and truly revere the fulfillment that comes from “art.” I honor art daily from sensing and seeing texture, pattern, and color all around me and reveling in every bit of it. I see art in the way the sunlight glows golden through my child’s curls, in how the light and sound of a busy restaurant pours out of open windows on to a darkened street, in the amazement that comes from watching a ball of wool fold gently into a gorgeous fabric, or in using thread and ribbon to transform a dime store headband into something incredibly lovely. How do you see art?

For each day of my curatorship, I chose a different medium in which I express my creativity—each day’s links (except for day one) includes instructions for you to make something beautiful. Happy making!

To learn more about Anne Weil, visit flaxandtwine.com.